Collegiate Hoops: Texas and A&M to Stay in the Big 12?

The Big 12 was on the verge of breaking up because of the conference realignment discussion.

There were six teams that were invited by the Pac-10 to join their conference.

The Big Ten also reached out to Nebraska and took them out of the arms of the Big 12.

There have been two departures from the Big 12 thus far. Which is good news considering that there was said to be at least six.

Many speculated Texas would join the Pac-10 by this Friday at the latest, and A&M leaned closer to the SEC conference. That would have left eight teams in the Big 12, and that's not counting the prospective jumps to the Pac-10.

The Big 12 didn't seem to have much control over the Nebraska and Colorado jumps but could have a say so with Texas, and A&M.

Just about an hour ago, I received news that Texas A&M's Gene Stallings expressed interest in a possible return if they were unable to acquire a better offer from a different conference. Also, Texas is reportedly committing to the Big 12.

The status of the Big 12 rested solely in the hands of Texas and now it looks like we'll be seeing more of the conference and not a mad scramble by the left-over’s. With Texas committing to the Big 12, that most likely brings back A&M as well.

With this said, a ten team conference shouldn't be so bad after all. Each of the remaining teams all share great history with each another.

Take a look at the rivalry between Kansas and Missouri; or Texas, Texas A&M.

Retaining each of these teams saved all the history and rivalries of the Big 12. Not to mention, since it is now a ten team conference, each team will be able to get a crack out of each another twice a year. This is great if you like seeing the Border Showdown, or other rivalries we wish we could see two times a year.

You could see these allegations confirmed by Tuesday or Wednesday. These are the day’s officials from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and Texas Tech plan to meet about the conference realignment.